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8 thoughts on “Dog Bite Related Fatalities in Canada (expired)”

I have a list going back to 1964 but it’s from KD who gets her info from news reports. I guess we all do since there’s no national database of this kind of info, for obvious reasons.

I prefer to use ‘alleged ……… type’ overall, since most people are incapable of identifying most breed characteristics, nobody is verifying ‘breed’ type, nobody is verifying whether the dogs are purebred or not.

And, in full agreement with you, I feel that the shape of the dog involved is the only factor that is completely unimportant to the tragic event.

HI Steve,
Thanks for the info. I only have one question for you; how did you compile your records? Is the spreadsheet taken from another source? I would simply caution that it is important to cite your sources so that we can provide a credible argument when discussing these, and other, statistics. As Selma mentioned above, the only other one I am aware of is KD’s list which can be found on the NCRC website. Hopefully, you can add your source as well, otherwise the BSL lobbyists will burn you at the stake for it and claim you are spreading myths! :) I myself typically refer back to our Canadian DBRF stats to show the inconsistency between what is actually happening in Canada in terms of dog attacks and what the media, and the Ontario government, has created in terms of a horror story. Thank you so much for your time and efforts!

Thank you so much for this article. I too would like the location of the reference articles I want to fight in my town where pits and pit types are always mid identified. And blamed in situations where those breeds were not even involved.

In early 2004, Karen Delise of the National Canine Research Council sent me a list of Canadian dog-bite-related fatalities that she had compiled up to the end of 2003. The list was not entirely complete, sometimes missing ages, names, and specifics. I then searched the Internet for as much of the missing information as I could find.

From 2004 until today, I have compiled the list myself.

The information has come from the following sources:

1. Media. Although I am always suspect of media accuracy, there is a tendency in fatal cases, after a week or so, for most of the media to get most of the story correct. Obviously, breed is the most suspect part of the story, as I mentioned at the beginning of this article. Other than that, eventually most of the details iron themselves out as the media is able to speak to more people, especially police.

2. Members of the Dog Legislation Council of Canada making phone calls to authorities to try to get more details. Naturally, these authorities are reluctant to talk to anyone, especially if there is the potential for charges to be laid. However, we do the best we can.

3. In a couple of cases, we had people living in the areas who were able to get more information through the “local grapevine”, so to speak. In some cases, we were unable to publish all the information obtained because it placed significant blame on specific individuals but was not able to be unequivocally proven (for example, cases of drug or alcohol abuse at the time of the incident).

I do NOT, for one second, believe that I have been able to get the whole story in each case. This is somewhat the nature of the tragedy. Nobody wants to talk and, in many cases, walls of silence (and local protection) are built around the families involved to understandably protect them from more emotional trauma.

I do believe that I have enough details in each case to illustrate the potential for prevention, which is my primary reason for doing this.

In reading Pierre Burton’s books of the history of the gold rush all types and crosses of dogs were used to pull sleds. Speaking personally I use descriptors rather than try and name breed or mixtures thereof.

I am so disgusted by the blatant hate that goes on towards certain breeds. ie the pitbull! I mean thats almost the equivalent of racism. if a kid kills a cat or a puppy we slap them on the wrist…. but if a dog which is more animalistic just bites someone, they are put down. Most dogs are provoked. Most dogs are afraid or intimidated and then attack. most little cchildren dont understand to approach a dog slowly and allow it to come to them and sniff before trying to just play with it. and then we want to be angry at the dog. Teach your kids. Treat your pets better and stop leaving them chained outside. There is no such thing as a bad dog! or a bad breed. Only an inability to be the alpha male or female of your pack. and a dog needs a pack that will give it a role! make a change people!

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